


Evening Routine

by Inuy21



Series: Dragon Age One-shots [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Comfort, Communication, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Post-Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening, Verbal Sparring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-10 07:47:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11687208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inuy21/pseuds/Inuy21
Summary: The best way to go about a new relationship is slow and steady. Nathaniel would be happier if Velanna would stop worrying so much.





	Evening Routine

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first time writing for this couple, so hopefully it came out alright. 
> 
> This was done for an August Challenge over on Tumblr. 
> 
> Day 2: Rare Pair

She was beautiful, ruthless, and sharp-tongued. Traits he may not have ever noticed or appreciated had his life gone the way it should have. A hint of anger flared to life at the thought, but it was all directed at his father now. Nathaniel let out a quiet breath and closed his eyes as he willed himself to calm. The body beside him shifted as a hand ran up his chest, fingers combing through wiry hair at the open V of his shirt. 

“I should be going,” Velanna’s voice was soft and wistful as she continued stroking his chest, fascinated with his body. 

“Should you?” Nathaniel questioned, a bit more serious than he meant to. When she started to pull away from him; his hand came up to rest atop hers. “I wish you would stay.” 

“I…” 

Warm air blew across his ribs as her forehead butted just above his stomach. Nathaniel wished there was something more he could say or do to make her stay, but he also knew how difficult it had been to talk her into innocently relaxing with him in the evenings. 

Velanna had been adamant in her hatred toward humans, and he couldn’t say he blamed her. The way humans had treated her clan. Then the fact that some of her clansmen had been murdered and her sister taken, and it all had been made to look like humans had done it. So, no, he hadn’t judged her for being so angry and skittish for some time around him. 

“I want to stay, Nathaniel, but…” she broke off, not wanting to argue with him in this moment. She just wanted to go before any of the other Wardens caught her and Nathaniel like this. 

“But no one need know that you enjoy spending time with a human,” he offered when she kept quiet. He had heard it so many times before; it was the most common reason she used to spend less time with him. 

Velanna growled, pulling away and sitting up so she could stare down at Nathaniel. “I’m Dalish…I shouldn’t!” She hung her head and bit her lip, her eyes squeezing shut. 

Nathaniel reached up, brushing the back of his fingers along her cheek. “You shouldn’t what, Velanna? You were banished from your clan. You joined the Grey Wardens to seek vengeance and to find your sister.” And her sister had chosen The Architect over family. 

She sobbed, “She’s lost to me for good, Nathaniel. The one person that truly mattered to me.”

Propping himself up on an elbow, he used his other hand to pull her head down against his shoulder. She wept for a few minutes but was quick to pull herself back together before she completely lost it. Sitting back up, she swiped a hand across her face and turned away from him. 

Nathaniel gave her a moment to collect herself. “She may be lost, but you aren’t.” When silence reigned, he continued. “If you can’t do this, be with me, a human, then I’d like to know before I misstep.” Oh he knew she would let him know if he did something wrong or went too far, but she was encouraging him more with each passing day. It would make it that much harder on him when she finally rejected him and left him to pick up the pieces of his life. 

Velanna turned to him, eyes shining with tears. “It’s not that simple, Nathaniel. I wish it were, for both our sakes.”

“Then let’s start simple, Velanna. Do you like me?” he questioned, pushing up so his hand was bracing him and he was eye-to-eye with her. 

A slight blush crept over her cheeks. “I do, perhaps more than I should.” The truth was much more complicated, but she didn’t want to get into details if she didn’t have to. 

A smile tipped one side of his lips up. “I like you more than I should, too. Not a smart move on my part, but I must say that you can be quite charming at times.”

More heat rushed up her face as she gave a small laugh. After calming a bit, she hiked a brow in the air. “I believe you might be mistaking me for someone else? Perhaps you were thinking of the Warden-Commander?”

Nathaniel shook his head. “I fear I could never compete with the King of Ferelden for her attentions even if that was true. Not to mention that my father had her family murdered.” 

His mouth snapped shut and he swung his head to the side. After almost a year it shouldn’t affect him so much, but it was something that he would carry the weight of in his heart for the rest of life even though he had no part in it. It didn’t matter that Elissa Cousland had forgiven him for his own transgressions when he’d snuck into Vigil’s Keep with the intent to get revenge on her and the Wardens. 

He would have further dishonored his family’s name if not for her revealing the truth of his father’s actions. A truth he hadn’t fully believed until his sister had confirmed it, condemning their father’s name and living as a commoner. 

Slowly, he turned back to face Velanna. “No, it was you, my lady,” he started again, reaching out to touch her face, her hair, her ears—any place she would let him touch, “that caught and held my attention.”

Velanna leaned into the touch, her eyes half-shut as she let herself enjoy the moment. “Stop calling me that,” she whispered half-heartedly. 

When he had first used the title she had been beyond angry that he would mock her, but then she had learned that it was his way of showing respect. From then on whenever he referred to her as such, it made her heart skip a beat, especially as he had never referred to the other women in their party as such. It was a title he had seemed to reserve only for her. 

Nathaniel chuckled lightly, his fingertips brushing her cheek before running down to her neck. “But I like the way you blush and the little smile you get when I say it, my lady,” he retorted, leaning a little closer to her. 

Her hand rested on his chest, the urge to push quelled as it rested against warm skin. She tipped her chin, letting their lips brush for an instant before she pulled back. “You tempt me when I know I shouldn’t be.”

He chuckled, a finger sliding under her chin to keep her from turning away. “I will not apologize, Velanna.” Nathaniel lowered his head for another chaste kiss. “For you tempt me more than you know, so I find it only fair to do the same.”

Velanna scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I do not do it on purpose, Nathaniel,” she half-growled, a little frustrated over all the conflicting emotions running through her. She needed to harden herself, deny the physical pull between them. 

“I know,” he said softly, letting her go before things between them got too tense. It was all a work in progress, one he would continue with as long as she didn’t fully reject him. 

She sighed, letting her head drop for a moment before looking at him again, eyes a little more cold and distant than they had been. “I need to go.”

Velanna kept her position on the bed, waiting to see what he would do or say. He only nodded causing a small smile to curve her lips as she got to her feet. Nathanial lounged back, tucking his hands behind his head and crossing his legs—making himself look the picture of relaxation when he was anything but. 

“Sleep well, my lady,” he said to the ceiling, not wanting to see the indifference on her face nor could he take the chance of going after her to soothe her. 

“Good night, Nathaniel,” she whispered over her shoulder before leaving the room, wondering if she would be bound to do this all again tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments/critiques and kudos are always welcome!


End file.
